While in Milan, I made a stop to see the art gallery Pinacoteca di Brera and then followed this up with a short walk to Eataly, an Italian food shop with restaurants. This gallery, Pinacoteca di Brera, can be explored in a couple of hours, and there are other attractions on site, such as a library. The Pinacoteca di Brera is a unique museum in that visitors do not just see the art displayed in nearly 40 rooms but they can understand it from a research view and see canvases being stored and also restored.
Visitors can see the restoration equipment, including a huge workshop that can hold a very large canvas during restoration work. The gallery is very good in that each painting has a description in the museum, and the description is in Italian and English. (For those who prefer to see the artwork from the comfort of their couch, most of the artwork is photographed and arranged into rooms and searchable on the website http://pinacotecabrera.org/en/collezioni/).
Renaissance and religious art is the most common at this museum. There are some fantastic pieces.
One of the works in the gallery is by Sofonisba Anguissola, one of the few Renaissance women painters. This painting was painted early in her stay at Madrid court, and this portrait of the young women shows a fine attention to detail of the gold, pearls, and fur.
The painting below is by Carlo Dolci and shows David after his defeat of the giant Goliath. The drapery is very detailed as is the face of David, which is very luminous. It is thought that this work was commissioned by John Finch as a gift for the Queen of England.
My favourite paintings in this gallery were toward the later rooms. I'm not a fan of the religious art as the same themes are often reused although interpreted in different styles. One room featured some landscapes by Bernardo Bellotto. He studied under his uncle Canaletto in Venice and then travelled Europe to paint landscapes in a time when photography did not exist.
The above painting was painted in afternoon light with the workers returning from fields. The landscape is of Lombardy, which is the countryside around Milan. There are also several of Venice, including one that was painted by Canaletto, the uncle of this painter. The work was finished in the workshop in order to accurately paint the architecture.
Another painting of the Grand Canal in Venice is from painter Francesco Guardi, who also studied under Canaletto. It is titled "View of the Grand Canal." It was painted after 1754 because the domed bell tower on the church was added in that year.
One room did not have much to explain about the paintings as they were on an audio guide. This room had modern art.
Guiseppe Bossi painted a portrait.
Franscesco Hayez painted 'The Kiss', which is an Italian Romanticism work. It shows a couple from the Middle Ages kissing, and the kiss is the focus. It is one of the best examples of "the kiss" in art. The work has inspired film and branding.
Gerolamo Induno painted this painting featuring a young woman sitting on a bed in a modest home. The above work "The Kiss" is actually on the wall in the background of this painting.
The above painting was painted by Giovanni Segantini. Many paintings in this room were very similar with landscape country scenes, idyllic settings. This one features cows, and it was one of the artist's favourite works.
On exiting (or entering) the galleries, visitors can have a look through the window at the beautiful library. I believe that the library can be visited for a cost. After exiting, the gallery is on the first floor and the inner courtyard is below.
After a couple of hours spent at the Pinacoteca di Brera, I had a short walk to Eataly, which is a specialised food shop selling Italian products. It's just outside the main centre of Milan. The shop reminded me of a Whole Foods. Different Italian restaurants are arranged on the floors, and I had lunch on the top floor.
I had melanzane alla parmigiana, which is a vegetarian lasagna made with eggplant and cheese. I've had this dish before, and it was very tasty.
The bloke had mixed grill. He doesn't care for Italian food, pizza, or pasta. I love pasta.
I had the chocolate and apricot tart for dessert. This seems to be a common dish in this part of Europe (Austria and southern Germany). You cannot taste the apricot but it is an ingredient.
I had a look around the food shop after eating and looked at the vegetables. I have not seen horticulture beans or the yellow beans (I forget the name of them) in years. We used to grow both types of beans in the US, and I had to pick them.
Overall, the meal tasted nice at Eataly but was expensive, especially considering that it is on the store's floor and not an intimate restaurant set up. I was not expecting it to be quite expensive for those prices. Have you ever visited Eataly or the art gallery?
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